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Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Jan 2005

Evangelism just got harder. Irrespective of the rights and wrongs (or should I say 'rights and lefts') of the recent election in America, biblical Christianity is now firmly associated in many people's minds with conservative Republican politics. These two sets overlap: there are moral issues that Republicans hold in common with Christians, there are Christians who are Republicans, etc. But they are not the same: there are Democrats who are Christians too.

Saying such things within biblical Christian circles in America is becoming a hard trick to pull off without being accused of being morally limp-wristed. Even more alarming, fringe Christians and 'seekers' are distancing themselves from biblical churches because they do not want to be told how to vote (nor do they want to be thought of as Republican). As I say, irrespective of the moral issues that may be at stake, this means that evangelism just got harder.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Nov 2004

The first Presidential Debates have come and gone. In the past these prime-time TV events have been turning points for or against candidates.

Ronald Reagan memorably doused Jimmy Carter's enthusiastic attacks with the four words: 'There you go again'. Reagan said he thought those four words won him the election. Bill Clinton was a master on this stage. Poor old President Ford confidently stated that the Soviets were not in control of any portions of Eastern Europe, effectively underlining his reputation as a bungler.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Oct 2004

Schwarzenegger's appearance at the Republican convention was a real eye opener. One gets the impression that if this Austrian born immigrant had instead been a US citizen by birth, he would be a genuine contender for the Presidency himself at some point in the future.

Still, there he was, cheering on the troops, rallying the faithful behind George W. Bush. Several things stood out for attention. One was Schwarzenegger's sheer rhetorical effectiveness. The man who earned his initial reputation from pumping iron not massaging words (and even his later more sophisticated acting was marked by a clownish bluntness of speech) began the speech with well delivered quip after quip, hit all the right emotional buttons, and ended with a raucous chant of 'four more years' which was intoned loudly throughout the auditorium.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Aug 2004

Today is July 5. Yesterday was July 4. Wow, talk about being on the ball; don't tell me, and the day before that was July 3?

The point is that July 4 is the day that America cheers for freedom. July 4, 2004 was no exception. There were the usual parades. Parks were packed with revellers and grills and children and loud music. It was a perfect day, weather-wise. Not a cloud in the sky. Nothing except on the horizon the storm crow Iraq.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Jun 2004

And so it happens. American soldiers are caught on camera performing acts of barbaric cruelty. Not only so, but acts within the same old haunts as frequented by the Butcher of Baghdad himself, Saddam Hussein. The prison, Abu Ghraib, was infamous for its torture cells under the previous regime. Bush's most powerful rhetoric in favour of the war had been to stop the torture. Now, in the same prison, American soldiers are doing the same thing.

And so it happens. An American civilian is brutally and sadistically decapitated, and the murder is recorded on video tape and published on the internet. There may be no direct link between these two news stories but the cycle of violence - of crime leading to hate leading to crime - has become vicious.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Sep 2004

The Statue of Liberty has opened for visitors for the first time since 9/11. Perhaps the flaming torch on the old lady of democracy provides a glimmer of hope to American sensibilities.

Mind you, nowadays while you can again go into the Statue of Liberty you can no longer go up to the crown for security reasons. A glimmer of hope, perhaps, but the flaming torch appears to some jaundiced eyes to be something of a smoking flax in need of Jesus's gentle mercy. You can go as high as the statue's feet - enjoying the indignity of a new anti-bomb device that blasts air into your clothing to detect particles of explosive residue. Not quite what the original framers of the Constitution had in mind to gild their well worn evocative phrases in praise of Liberty.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Jul 2004

Known affectionately as 'Dutch' (or the 'Gipper' after one of his movie roles), Ronald Reagan became the epitome of conservative politics in the United States. He was credited with having renewed the Republican Party, ended the Cold War, and begun a long period of economic prosperity. It is hard to overestimate the influence that Ronald Reagan has had on conservative politics in the United States.

By all reports Reagan was an endearing character. His wife described him as someone with 'absolutely no ego', who was 'happy in his own skin' and, therefore, did not feel he had to prove himself to anyone. His correspondence to fans, friends and family speak of a person with a kindly heart, a consideration of others' perspectives, a winsome way with words, as well as an ample supply of down-to-earth common sense.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 May 2004

Indiana Jones finally made his way into the inner cave where the Holy Grail was said to be kept. To his dismay he discovered not one cup but thousands. Which one was the true Holy Grail?

Right behind him rushed in the baddy, the evil Nazi leader kitted out with maniacal laugh and monocle and all. This 'evil leader' surveys the scene and pounces upon by far the most prestigious and expensive cup in the room. He drinks from it and dies horribly. Indie then has to choose. He also looks around the room. This time, though, he picks up a simple wooden cup. 'That's the cup of a carpenter', he says and he drinks from it to no ill effect. As Indiana Jones races back to save his father from dying by the means of the healing properties of the Holy Grail, the last knight guarding the cup says, 'He chose wisely.'

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Apr 2004

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) continue to create political tension for George W. Bush. At the Oscars Sean Penn scored an easy laugh with this side swipe: 'If there's one thing actors know - other than that there aren't any WMDs - it's that there is no such thing as 'best' in acting.'

Bush is therefore launching an earlier than expected counter-attack in this presidential election year. John Kerry, leading Democratic hopeful, is to be portrayed as the snivelling elitist in the pocket of the rich liberal hierarchy. His prevaricating voting record will be pointed out. In his own stab at humour, George Bush recently said referring to Kerry: 'The other party's nomination battle is still playing out. The candidates are an interesting group with diverse opinions. They're for tax cuts and against them. They're for NAFTA and against NAFTA. They're for the Patriot Act and against the Patriot Act. They're in favour of liberating Iraq, and opposed to it. And that's just one senator from Massachusetts.'

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Mar 2004

This year the Super Bowl was between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers. During the Super Bowl I went to a Super Bowl party.

A Super Bowl party means eating and watching the game on TV, or at least the commercials which air in between the frequent time outs and other interruptions which so bemuse a British observer. The commercials are particularly expensive to air during this prime time viewing moment of the year and consequently vie for being the most memorable or funny.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Feb 2004

The final instalment of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings opened in America on my birthday. I have long been a fan of J.R.R. Tolkein's fantasy about Hobbits and Sauron and the 'ring of power'.

I even remember telling a Cambridge don during my interview at Cambridge that Tolkein was one of the foremost literary geniuses of our age. He was a bit bemused by this ('fanciful' I seem to remember was his judgement of Tolkein's work) but I stand by my assessment. As a story, The Lord of the Rings is without parallel in modern literature, at least in the way it tackles the great themes of good and evil, suffering, heroism and adventure. Nothing in The Lord of the Rings is real; much of it is true.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Jan 2004

Recently, the Massachusetts State has ruled that homosexual marriage is legal. This is an enormous, ground-breaking piece of legislation for a number of reasons.

First, it runs against the legislative norms of any established society in the history of the world. Never has there been a society where homosexual marriage has been deemed as on equal footing, legally speaking, to heterosexual marriage. Obviously, homosexual activity has long been a part of human society. Societies have dealt with it in various ways. Some have swept the matter under the carpet. Others have persecuted homosexuals. Others have lauded homosexual behaviour as an ideal form of love. None have legislated it as a full and equal part of marriage. This is for obvious reasons: homosexuality is not procreative. It is an interesting side bar to this current debate that population levels are actually decreasing in many Western societies today.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Feb 2004

In November 1999, Rochelle and I flew out to America. We had with us three suitcases, a laptop and printer. Little did we know that we were arriving just before Thanksgiving, and all that implies in America. We had nowhere to stay. We were going to begin a new venture in our lives. We believed that God had called us.

The church that I began to pastor then was made up of no more than 20-30 people. The name of the church: Trinity Baptist Church.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Dec 2003

I recently went to hear Chuck Colson, the famed author of Born Again, once notorious as an insider in the political Watergate scandal. He was sent to prison. But in the midst of the maelstrom surrounding him, Chuck Colson became 'born again'. Ever since, he has been the highly regarded and influential leader of Prison Fellowship.

Colson was speaking about Jonathan Edwards. In his lecture he touched on a wide variety of contemporary themes and issues that are facing evangelicals. In particular, he suggested, the drift towards moral relativism was likely to face a turnaround as a result of September 11. It's hard, was the gist of what he was saying, to swallow the idea that there is no evil in the world when you watch airplanes on suicide missions colliding into buildings containing thousands of human lives.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Nov 2003

In 1951 Bill Bright and his wife, Vonette, made a simple sort of 'contract' with Jesus. They pledged all their resources to the spread of the gospel. Then they sold their food business and later an Oklahoma oil drilling company. And they used the finances thereby gained to help found Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC). Today CCC is perhaps the largest Christian para-church organisation in the world. It works in 191 countries, has a full-time staff of 26,000 as well as more than 225,000 trained volunteers.

On July 19 Dr. Bill Bright died. He may not be the last famous post-war evangelical pioneer to die in the next year or so. While wishing to avoid all reference to Mark Twain's famous quip about his prematurely reported passing ('Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated'), both John Stott and Billy Graham are, after all, in their 80s.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Oct 2003

'This is our generation's Vietnam.' Such was the opinion of one person talking to me the other day about the war in Iraq. Is he right? We all surely hope not. But if George Bush's current request to Congress for US$87 billion for the war on terror is anything to go by odds are on for Vietnam Reloaded.

It all started with three digits and two towers. The destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre on September 11 2001 ('9/11') set in motion a chain of events whose destination remains uncertain. Wherever we are going it is somewhere unpredictable. No longer do we hear talk of the New World Order. More like the New World Chaos.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Oct 2003

Jonathan Edwards is 300 years old on October 5 2003. He is dead. And yet he speaks, writes Josh Moody.

His works - ever a source of inspiration and fascination for Reformed evangelicals - have recently gained a much wider following. And his influence continues to grow with each passing anniversary.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Sep 2003

The New York Times does not always tell the truth. This may not come as a surprise to the critically minded. But the extent to which one New York Times journalist managed to foist fiction as fact is a shock. His stories not only stretched the truth, they were entirely made up. One particularly harrowing piece for evangelicals was about a so-called (and fictional) evangelical group engaging in some rather weird and wonderful worship practices.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Aug 2003

As an Englishman in New Haven, I couldn't help but notice last month's EN front page article about English preachers deserting England for America. I've met Ken Brownell once and know East London Tabernacle and was delighted with both experiences and interactions. I think Ken has a good point. Here's a different view.

The assertion, first popularised by Jim Packer, that American Christianity is a thousand miles wide but only two inches deep is intended as a perspective of the Bible belt. Actually, American Christianity as a whole is at least only 800 miles wide. That is, there are significant geographical and cultural pockets of America where gospel Christianity is a rarity. It's not that it's ephemeral or superficial; it doesn't exist. In particular, the North West of America and the North East of America are graveyards for gospel ministry.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Jul 2003

Over-kill is the equivalent of using a hammer to crack a nut. To 'over-kill' in a particular situation is to go to an extreme, to 'over-react', in order to accomplish an otherwise commendable goal. Cracking a nut is fine; using a hammer might seem impressive but it is probable that the resulting innards of the nut will be either scattered to the four corners of the room or smashed to pulp.

It is my growing conviction that 'Over-kill' is setting in among conservative Christians in America. Perhaps you'll recognise the same phenomenon closer to home. While I presume that my theologically conservative credentials are assumed because I am writing for Evangelicals Now, it is perhaps nonetheless worth stating what to me and anyone who has heard me preach is obvious: I am a theological conservative. To say that I am somewhat right of Attila the Hun theologically speaking might not be a 'nice' way to put it, but you get the idea.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Jun 2003

Perhaps the most surprising turn of events in recent months has been the re-surfacing (in a positive light) of the idea of 'empire.' A new book has come out assessing the history of the British Empire non-pejoratively and, indeed, daring to suggest that America should embrace 'empire' as its new manifest destiny.

Few agree. The history of empire, domination, however you cut it, by another power, has little innate marketing appeal. And as President Bush indicated in his recent speech atop a massive aircraft carrier, while some nations had stayed and conquered they had come and now they were going home.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Sep 2002

A federal court has recently ruled that the phrase 'under God' in the traditional pledge of allegiance is unconstitutional.

In a case brought by an atheist with children at public schools (equivalent to English state schools) in California, the ninth circuit court has declared that the phrase 'under God' should not be a part of the pledge of allegiance.

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Dec 2002

Here are some of the more interesting things reported in the press in America. Interesting, that is, from an evangelical perspective.

1. Run DMC famous rap star is shot in recording studio

Josh Moody

Date posted: 1 Nov 2002

There are two great challenges facing evangelicals in America today. The first is contemporary. How can evangelicals effectively minister in an atmosphere where war is looking increasingly likely? What is their role? Are they to tacitly support the administration, passively ignore the political realities, or actively campaign for a pacifist response?

Each of these approaches have had their supporters in conflicts past. The other challenge is historic. Because the revival of American evangelicalism over the past 50 years has, by and large, been based in para-church organisations, the gut-feeling of many American Christians is one that is thoroughly unused to being committed to a local church. This - as anyone with a moment's reflection could see - might easily transpire to produce enormous problems for the Christian community at large in the future.